St. Louis Cardinals fans are likely feeling deflated after the collapse that put an end to the team's dreams of a World Series repeat, but there is good reason to be excited.

With all of the odds against them, the Cardinals managed to push their 2012 season beyond any anticipated boundary.

Given all of the season's changes and the adversity the team had to fight through, the fact that they played in October at all was an anomaly in itself. On paper, it made sense for the Cardinals to be in the playoffs, but few saw them as a true threat.
As the season continued, even fans began to doubt as they watched the team seemingly crumble in June and July. When the Cardinals finally came to life in September they went 11-5 in the last 16 games of the season to lock up the second Wild Card position in its inaugural year.

That run, despite it's crushing end in Cincinnati in Game 7 of the National League Championship Series, lots of good came from the Cardinals' season and playoff run.
Following in no particular order are 10 reasons Cardinals fans have to be excited about the 2013 season.

Trevor Rosenthal
When rookie fireballer Trevor Rosenthal made his first trip to St. Louis, it was obvious almost instantly that he was something special.
Between his 100 mph fastball and the general inability for almost anyone to hit off of him, he became a huge part of the Cardinals playoff run.

He pitched in a total of 19 regular season games before the 22-year-old rookie from Lee's Summit, Mo. got his first taste of postseason baseball and he put on quite a show.
In 8.2 IP over seven postseason appearances, Rosenthal held opponents to only two hits and no runs.
It's possible that down the stretch he may have already earned his spot in the rotation for 2013.

Shelby Miller
The long-coveted fastball pitching prospect Shelby Miller also made his first trip to St. Louis in 2012 and put on a good show.
In 13.2 IP over six regular season games, Miller surrendered only two runs on nine hits. His postseason performance was more of the same with two runs on four hits in 3.2 IP.

Despite a dismal first half of the season in Memphis, Miller got himself together and still managed to make one major league start before the end of the season -- a very impressive start at that.
Against the Cincinnati Reds in the final game of the regular season, Miller posted 5.2 hitless innings. He gave up no runs and collected his first major league win.

Expect to see a lot more of Miller in St. Louis early in 2013.

Joe Kelly
When Joe Kelly made his major league debut on June 10, few could have guessed the importance he would play throughout the remainder of the 2012 season.
Kelly started 16 games for the Cardinals this season filling in for Jaime Garcia and Lance Lynn, but it was the postseason when he really came through for his teammates.

When starting pitchers struggled time and again in October, it was Kelly who came to their rescue.
In seven postseason appearances, Kelly threw 7.2 innings and surrendered only two runs on six hits. Kelly came through for the Cardinals from the bullpen.
There's a good chance that could be his home in the future.

Mike Matheny
When the Cardinals hired Mike Matheny to take over for Tony LaRussa, many question bringing in a manager with no experience to such a storied franchise.

He had a few hiccups and growing pains along the way, but for a rookie manager to get his team where Matheny did this year speaks volumes.
His players have a strong respect for Matheny and credit his positive style with being a driving force behind their 2012 success.
True, he didn't get them through the NLCS, but the team made it to an all or nothing Game 7. That's good experience for the players obviously, but also for Matheny. Not only did he learn a lot about managing in the media pressure cooker that is postseason baseball, he also got a taste of what it felt like to win as a manager.

NLCS loss means more drive to win
While the NLCS loss was a good lesson for a young manager, it's an even more important lesson for a young player.
The 2011 championship lit a fire under young players like Lance Lynn and Jon Jay. That fire helped drive them to extremely successful sophomore seasons.

What happened in 2012 will likely do the same for Rosenthal, Miller and Kelly. Their 2013 season may not be like Jay or Lynn's 2012, but now they've gotten a little taste of what it feels like to be a winner.

Both the excitement and the public humbling can be a great experience for any young player.

The run was without several key components
In a season riddled with injuries, none were as crucial as those late in the season.
The loss of Lance Berkman and Rafael Furcal significantly weakened the team's bench. Instead of having Pete Kozma, Allen Craig and Matt Carpenter to pinch hit, the team wound up having to use them in the lineup.

The loss of Jaime Garcia and Jake Westbrook also rocked the Cardinals. Instead of having Lynn and Westbrook also available from the bullpen, Lynn was pushed back into the rotation after a very successful NLDS bullpen stint.

Having gotten as deep into the playoffs as the Cardinals did in spite of the injuries is quite the accomplishment.

They did it without Pujols, LaRussa and Duncan
Few in the world of sports gave the Cardinals a fighting chance when Albert Pujols left the team to play on the west coast. Surely this team couldn't be as good as they were?

Few gave them a chance after longtime manager Tony LaRussa decided it was time to retire.
Few gave them a chance after pitching coach Dave Duncan left the team.
The Cardinals did it despite all of that. That's something any fan should be proud of.

No, they didn't hoist a trophy. There will be no parade or tickertape.
What there is, though, is hope for next year and that will come sooner than you may think.
After all, pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training in just four short months.

I think the Pujols deal will go down as one of the worst in baseball history. The fact that Trout (deservedly) gets all the attention while Pujols is basically invisible on a national level is great. No All Star Game, no playoffs. He did get his money, but at least it wasn't Cardinals money.

WE'LL NEVER FORGET YOU ALFRED!

I love how quickly he's going to disappear into irrelevance in LA.

Kobe is God there, Dwight and Nash will be close behind. Hell, then you have Paul and Griffin that are probably ahead of Pujols in terms of sheer popularity.

And LA remains a Dodgers town, so I gotta think Kemp is ahead of him and if A-Gone comes around next season and the Dodgers take off, he'll fly ahead of Albert as well. Kershaw could also.

On his own team you've already mentioned Trout. He's pretty damn lucky that the NHL is going on strike and the NHL is a niche sport otherwise he'd probably be a lesser light than Jonathan Quick.

!@#$ him - it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. But don't worry, 'bert - Arte will make sure to go get Carlota and all the rest of those loyal Angels fans another couple of shiny baubles to keep them distracted in the off-season.

Their fans are cool, their players are good guys. I can't for the life of me figure out a reason to dislike them.

It's not exactly a team of mercenaries (afterall, a great deal many of their 'expensive' players were in house pickups or cheap trades, Beltran excluded). They've drafted well, they've developed well, and they've simply done a great job as an organization.

And Nolan Ryan is a bauce.

They are a good example of a team doing it the right way and I can't help but applaud them for that.

Their fans are cool, their players are good guys. I can't for the life of me figure out a reason to dislike them.

It's not exactly a team of mercenaries (afterall, a great deal many of their 'expensive' players were in house pickups or cheap trades, Beltran excluded). They've drafted well, they've developed well, and they've simply done a great job as an organization.

And Nolan Ryan is a bauce.

They are a good example of a team doing it the right way and I can't help but applaud them for that.

I feel the same way about TX, but 5 rookies in a starting rotation? Gotta admire what the A's have done.

Sitting here in ATL. Getting ready for the game tomorrow. Me and the son have the same shirts we wore when we saw them win it live in 2006. We have our World Series winner tickets in a lanyard for good luck.

Hopefully, we can get to ATL early or its jsut going to be a tough hill to climb.

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Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

If the Cardinals were in the American league they would be a middle of the pack team

Here's some stuff that I saw that you cant get from watching the game on TV.

All the Cardinals looked relaxed and not nervous at all.

Methany, Carp, Waino and Garcia were all out in the outfield shagging balls during batting practice. They were cutting up and you could tell breaking balls on each other.

Waino was going around to each little group of gathered Cardinals and spoke to them for a little while and then moved on to the next group. You could tell he was trying to pump people up, show some leadership.

I was down by the field where Loshe and Molina warmed up before the game. I was about 5 yards from Molina catching Loshe. When they came out there were a group of about 20 Cardinal fans standing there . We all started cheering and yelling out encouragement. They gave a very slight acknowledgment that we were there so close but they were both so focused on what they were doing it was amazing to watch. One of the guys in the group said that Molina looked like he would kill the next guy that attempted to distract him. Those dudes were on point and locked in.

In the 8th inning after the 1st out and the 1st runner was on both Holliday and Jay were looking over at the bullpen to see who was coming out. Every time Boggs threw a ball both glanced over at the bullpen. Their body language was someone that was expecting something and wasn't seeing what they had been told or what they were told to expect.

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

If the Cardinals were in the American league they would be a middle of the pack team

ST. LOUIS -- It's a new year. It's a new October. And what happened last year isn't supposed to mean any more now than what happened in, say, 1967. But don't tell it to the champs.

Don't tell it to the St. Louis Cardinals. Don't tell them they're lucky they're still playing. Don't tell them the system saved them from extinction. And we definitely don't recommend telling them they're the No. 5 seed in a five-team National League field.

They didn't get that memo. And just to make sure that's a message that will never be delivered to this sender, they gathered in their clubhouse Saturday, on the day before Game 1 of their NL Division Series against the Washington Nationals, and reminded each other of exactly what they are and who they are:

The champs.

A fellow named Lance Berkman spoke. A guy named Chris Carpenter spoke. They didn't plan it. They didn't script it. But they had something important they needed to say to the men inside that clubhouse. So they said it. Loud and clear.

"I just feel like, a lot of times, these games are about attitude, about the way you carry yourself," Berkman said. "And I thought it was just important for us to remember that we ARE the defending World Series champions. We're the team to beat. All these other teams, they're trying to knock us off. But we're the champs. So take that mentality on the field with us."

It wasn't the Gettysburg Address. It wasn't supposed to be. It didn't take long. It didn't leave the room in tears. But Lance Berkman made his point. And Chris Carpenter made his, with a similar take on how champions act, how they do battle in games like these, how they defend their titles.

Their teammates took it all in. And unlike the speeches players hear in other towns, from other voices, you almost got the feeling the men in that Cardinals clubhouse were trying their best to memorize every word.

"When Carp and Lance speak, people listen," said their longtime utility man, Skip Schumaker. "When they speak, it's not just some (bleep) speech where somebody's trying to make you believe something that's not true. These guys know what they're talking about. They're so well-spoken. And they've been through just about everything possible. So when Carp and Lance speak, they're our true leaders in this clubhouse. And you pay attention."

What's interesting about that, of course, is that almost every player in that room has contributed more to this team's cause ON the field this season than those two. But in the eyes of their teammates, that hasn't diminished their stature one iota.

Berkman has battled knee issues since April and finished the season with just two home runs and 12 hits all year. He's gotten only 10 at-bats since July and isn't even on the postseason roster. But he still comes to work every day, trying to make a difference in whatever small way he can -- even if it's just with his smarts and his vocal cords.

Meanwhile, Carpenter is only a few months removed from surgery to address thoracic outlet syndrome. He made just three late-season starts, and although he pitched reasonably well, the Cardinals didn't win any of them. But it's a miracle he's pitching at all so soon after surgery. And he means so much to this group that the Cardinals included him in their postseason rotation over a guy who won 18 games (Lance Lynn).

But Carpenter is also part of what makes the Cardinals so dangerous, not just to the Nationals but to any team that might have to match up with them in October. They're more talented than their record might make them appear. And, as they reminded the Braves in the Infield Fly Rule Wild Card Classic, these guys still think they're going to win every postseason baseball game they play.

"We've been through the extreme highs and the extreme lows of a postseason, so I really don't think anything can get to us," Schumaker said. "I mean, we were down, 2-0, to a pitcher (Kris Medlen) who hadn't lost in 24 starts, and it felt like it was still 0-0 in our dugout. And that's a good feeling to have.

"You know, we could make a million excuses this year about why we shouldn't be in this spot, with all the injuries, with Lance's injury and Carp's injury, and last year it was (Adam) Wainwright's injury. No Albert Pujols. We could go on and on. But the core of guys is still here. And they know what it takes. I just don't feel like we ever panic. And that's because of what we went through last year."

So they found themselves in another elimination game in Atlanta? Big whoop. In the last 375 days, they've essentially played seven elimination games -- Games 6 and 7 of the World Series (down, 3-2), Games 4 and 5 of last year's NLDS (down 2-1), the final two games of the 2011 regular season (when one loss could have sent them home) and then that wild-card game. They've won all seven of those games, by the way.

It shouldn't shock anybody, then, that while the rest of the planet was focusing Friday on the interpretation of the Infield Fly Rule, the people who were really paying attention knew exactly why the Cardinals won that game:

While the Braves were self-destructing on offense and defense, the Cardinals did everything that great October baseball teams do. They made the Braves pay for every screw-up. Ground out excellent at-bats in important spots. Ran the bases aggressively and intelligently. And stayed in the moment, just the way they always have.

"The mental approach of this team," said GM John Mozeliak, "is, we think about today and only today. We never think about the future, because we never know if we'll even get to that future."

That was their mantra last year under Tony La Russa. It's their mantra this year under Mike Matheny. And one reason that vibe hasn't changed, despite the absence of a presence as powerful as La Russa's, Berkman said, is that Matheny was sharp enough to figure out early on that "this team really manages itself."

With so many strong, intelligent, veteran leaders setting a special tone, all the important messages get delivered by the men who can deliver them best. That would be men like Chris Carpenter and Lance Berkman who know exactly when it's time to open their mouths -- and know precisely what to speak about when they do.

"All this stuff doesn't really impact the outcome of the games," Berkman said. "But part of being able to compete well, I think, is being in the right mindset. So all I was trying to do was just get guys to focus on something positive, to focus, really, on who they are and calling on that confidence that we have. …

"I'm not saying we're going to win the World Series, because anything can happen. But I do know that this team is going to go out and compete well. And I think that's the hallmark of a champion. That's what good teams do.

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

If the Cardinals were in the American league they would be a middle of the pack team